Saint Louis Arsenal Saint Louis, Mo.

1123 3/13/1860 OOH-1064 M.H. Wright Saint Louis Arsenal Saint Louis, Mo. My Dear Friend [OO Howard] Saint Louis Arsenal Saint Louis, Mo. Mch. 13, 1860 My Dear Friend: I will not fill this page with gloomy sayings, nor portray a dark future for myself, saddened as has been my heart, since last I met you, in the full enjoyment of the blessings of this Life, & gladdened by pleasant anticipations of the future. I will only mention, with a grieved Spirit, that the heaviest of afflictions has fallen upon me, & my Dear Brother & Sister. The Loss of a devoted, loving, Christian Father, can only be fully appreciated, by those, whose lot it has been, to realize the Same misfortune. In earlier days, our Sainted Mother was called to her long home, away from the sorrows & sin of this world below, to a Heaven beyond the Skies. Now, at a later day, our Dear Father has been taken. That both died in the full triumphs of a saving faith, is such consolation as if offered by a happy reliance a blessed Redeemer & such as would bid us, wipe away the tear of sorrow. But we would not forget their sweet names, nor cease to cherish the warmest love & affection for their holy characters. We would not be heedless of their kind remonstrances, nor forget their tender watchings over us, all through our lives. We would listen to their gentle callings, & give ear to their wise counsels. But can we, can we, feel otherwise, than sad & lonely? We would cheerfully say - all is well. All that Thou doest, is for our good. But we hear not the kind morning Salutation, nor receive the happy good-night. The Lord bless you - as we leave the family room, to seek rest for our weary bodies. At morn, the eye is bedimmed with tears. At night, no gleeful laugh betokens the gladness of our hearts. But we will not murmur, for we do have a hope in Christ. We know that our Redeemer liveth, & that our Dear Parents, are happy with Him in Heaven. You may have noticed my transfer, to this Station. Having been here but a short time, I cannot say, how I will be pleased. I find the Place a very handsome one, & very pleasantly situated on the Mississippi River. I expect I ll find it quite lonesome, there being no young officer here with me. Maj. Bell has been very kind to me. I inclose herewith, a letter from Tannatt, which I should have done, previous to leaving Troy, but, as it came only a day or two previous to the sad news which summoned me home, I neglected it. I hope to hear from you often, though I fear I shall not have the pleasure of seeing you as I had anticipated, while at Troy. Give my love to Mrs H & to yr Bro & kiss dear little Guy & Gracy. I hope they have not forgotten me. Remember me to Sockett & wife, Prof F & f, &c &c. May the Lord keep you all fr. every harm. Most truly, M.H. Wright

1124 3/16/1860 E.D.G. Prime My dear Sir [OO Howard] OOH-1065 N.Y. Observer Office N.Y. Observer Office March 16 1860 My dear Sir, Your notes were both duly received. The article which you enclosed has not altogether declined but laid aside owing to the press of matter which we had on hand requiring more immediate insertion. On looking it over again I find it to have more exclusively local interest in the Western Coast than I supposed & as few of our papers reach there I conclude to return it to you with our thanks for your kindness in forwarding it. Presuming upon the interest in the cause of religion especially in the army which your letters express I take the liberty of saying to you that we received a few days since a communication from a correspondent at the South stating that in a circle with which he was connected there had been a discussion of the influence of a military education upon the religious character & making inquiry whether any revival had ever occurred at any of our Military Academies & whether any of the graduates of the institutions had entered the gospel ministry. I know that while the present excellent Bishop McIlvaine of Ohio was Chaplain at West Point there was some very special religious interest among the cadets & several hopeful conversions. I know too that several eminent & excellent ministers were formerly connected with the Academy but I have not the means of giving specific information. If it is in your power to gather any facts of such interest in connection with Bishop McIlvaines Chaplaincy or in any other connection & which would interest those connected with the army as well as all others who love the cause of Christ I should be obliged to you if you would communicate them to me for publication if consistent with your convenience & your own feelings. Very truly & respectfully yours E.D.G. Prime [Edward Dorr Griffin Prime] Ed. N.Y. Observer I have prefaced a short editorial article giving the substance of the letter from your friend in the Pacific Christian Advocate & making an extract from his letter which will be in the next Observer.

1125 3/17/1860 Rowland [RB Howard] Skowhegan My dear Brother [OO Howard] OOH-1066 Skowhegan Mch 17 60 My dear Brother Charles must wait his turn. His letter came last & I will write him next. I preach here tomorrow & return to Bangor Monday. I was away Tues. Wed. &Thurs. on a visit to Bath & Hallowell. My Audience here was small last Sabbath but the notice was imperfect. The hall will be full tomorrow & may the Lord help me to declare his truth with faithfulness. I am going around among the people some, but I don t want them to set their hearts upon me as Providence seems to forbid my coming here. This is one of the beautiful & picturesque villages I ever saw & the terminus of the R.R. & a very thriving place. We have a little church here who are very poor generally but good. I have a nice boarding place at Hon. Dea. Esq. Judge Bells. He is by no means so formidable a man as his title would indicate - being a little good natured inoffensive Lawyer. The family are all pious. I found Ella at home & in better health than usual. Albert had just returned from Sea. He had a terrible passage from Liverpool to Philadelphia. He starts for his ship at P again Monday. He is a stout, stern looking fellow, but has very affectionate & tender feelings. The mate died the last voyage & he is now 1st mate of the Roswell Sprague. Lizzie is still in Portland at the U.S. Hotel, trying to be tortured into health by Dr Fitch. Ella is going Monday to stay a week with her. She has been alone for some time. I found Mother at Laura Anns. She (Mother) is not very well this winter. They expect to get home next week. She is in hopes to obtain the girl from N.Y. who was with Mrs Sargent last Summer & has written her. Henry & Father are as hard towards religion as ever & Laura as kind & thoughtful. Mother enjoyed her visit to Bath & Brunswick very much. Vaughan is quite feeble. I drove him out to Augusta & back. He is willing to listen & to talk about his Soul & a future State, but laments his indifference in view of the truth. Let us pray for the Spirit. That alone can show him his need of Christ. I said all I could. He seems to hope that there is no Hell. Mr Stinchfield is very attentive to Aunt Ellen. Will Grant has an appointment at Sutter to some posts in Arizonia, & as the troops are concentrating there he hopes to make money. He thinks of <leaving> Maine for good. At Bath I gave a Lecture for Mr Fiske who was unwell & at H. Enjoyed one of our old prayer meetings in the old place very much. I wish that John (Otis) <could> have complied with your terms. You are certainly under obligation to your family to demand good Security. I think he had better sell his farm, & if his <health> is sufficient, take up one in Aroostook. It would be hard for Helen, but for her good perhaps. I do wish poor Laura could be left in peace & the Enjoyment of her own simple pleasures & pursuits. Bangor Mch. 20th I have not seen an opportunity till now to finish my letter. I returned Mon. Night. I enjoyed unusual liberty Sunday Afternoon & there is manifest a tender & prayerful spirit in the little Church to wh. I have been ministering. Gen. Stevens has just been in & inquired for you kindly. Mr Maltby is sick & he wishes me to preach for them some. I may when my present engagements are closed. I have already preached there - (Hammond St.) twice. Intimations had been given me that they would like to have me in Brewer, but nothing official. It would be pleasant to be so near Bangor on Charles acct. I hope however that he wont mention it so as to reach Maine, as no one in the Seminary knows of the talk yet. I preach at Lincoln next Sabbath, supplying Island Falls by exchange. The next three Sabbaths I expect to spend at St. Stephens N.B. unless I can get released from an engagement wh. a classmate made there for me. I am always interested to hear of your experience & of your meetings. The Supt. does not know how much you

have accomplished. The Day of Judgment will reveal it all. God sees all & never forgets. I want to ask you a question. Should you be soon Ordered away from West Point, would that be any inducement to you to resign? Charles speaks as if he would stay till your furlough. It would be a great comfort for Mother to have him, but his own highest good is to be consulted first of course. Tell Guy that Uncle Rowland is very sorry to hear that he was sick. He would like to see those tools he hears so much about. Give him a kiss & ask him if he would be willing to come & live a while with Uncle R & Auntie Ella, by & by. Rev Dr Tappan & Mr Webb inquired particularly for you when I was at Augusta. Mrs Blaine has her third child, a few days old. Cousin Lydia is still quite unwell. They are to move to Milford - 14 miles above as soon as she is able. The A.R.R. is more embarrassed than ever. The Bath movement has aroused the Portland people & the present management is bankrupt, & the coupons unpaid. It may soon pass into the hands of the Bondholders. Anyway, Father gets nothing. Give my best love to the ladies of the family Mrs Lizzie & Miss Grace & you & Charles may take all thats left over. Your loving Brother Rowland P.S. Direct to Bangor as usual. Chas classmate Sam King is teaching at Kendalls Mills - Assistant in a boarding School. I saw Dellie at Bruns. He looks pretty thin & pale but said he was well.

1126 3/24/1860 [Thomas] Tannatt Dear Friend [OO] Howard OOH-1067 Manchester Mass Manchester Mass March 24, 1860 Dear Friend Howard Your most excellent letter reached me yesterday. Your kindness is apparent in every line, and I know you will be glad to hear that my health is so much restored that I will apply for orders to join my company the 1st of next month when I intend returning to N.Y. and if possible I shall spend the following Sabbath at West Point being most anxious to see you all before going to Randall. I regret to hear that any of our dear friends are under affliction. At times I get discouraged but how much should I rejoice for renewed vigor of body, & I pray the love of Christ may grow in me with returning health. Your labors in the little prayer meeting must yet result in adding stars to your crown of rejoicing, the promises of God being ever sure. Poor Wright has severely felt his Saviors hand in the removal of his loving pious parent, yet I fear not for him when he can see the hand that dealt the blow. You know my ideas of army life and nothing now keeps me where I am but a sense of indebtedness to the government, although my heart shrinks from the prospect before me. My health, promotion and all seem to say you are out of the path of duty, yet I am unwilling to leave with my health impaired and will go to my company and do my best. You must remember me to Mr & Mrs F. & Clara with an assurance of my love and esteem. You shall see me & then we will commune as of old. I need and desire your prayers so weak am I in the power of Christs love. May God bless you Howard, in answer to my poor cold petitions. Yours in the Saviour Tannatt [Thomas R Tannatt, USMA Class of 1858]

1127 3/27/1860 O.A. Mack Dear Friend [OO Howard] OOH-1068 Clifton Springs, Ontario Co. N.Y. Clifton Springs, Ontario Co. N.Y. March 27th 1860. My Dear Friend: Without apology or circumlocution I proceed to open the way for a correspondence which I fully believe may, thro God s assistance, prove mutually instructive & strengthening to us in running th race that is set before us. You have for some years been fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus - you are now in the midst of the enemy s camp, where you have had to combat single handed, and perhaps still do. You have stood up for Jesus among scoffers and the ungodly, have endured neglect & reproach for his sake - now I want to know how it is with you today - if God has blessed your endeavors, strengthened your hands, and made bold your heart? Since I saw you in the fall of 1858, when you told me of your labors at West Point, and of their then apparent unfruitfulness, I have often conversed about you, & the glorious cause in which you are engaged, with my wife, and she has taken a deep interest in your welfare, and often expressed a desire to hear how you prospered. There are so very few officers of the army who labor openly for our Blessed Saviour that she thinks they need the special interest & prayers of their friends in Christ to sustain & encourage them in the good work. She has read of Vicars, & Hammond, & Havelock in the English Service, and the knowledge of their eminent piety & large spheres of usefulness has convinced her that there are really no insuperable obstacles in the profession of arms to a truly Christian life, and has encouraged her to hope that our own Service may be adorned with bright & shining lights in the Christian cause. You know I was anxious to be placed on duty at the Mil. Academy at the time I saw you last. I have had occasion to thank God since, that I was not for, besides the feebleness of my health which I soon afterwards found would not have permitted me to follow that kind of life, I was placed in a sphere of duty & surrounded by influences of such a nature that I was speedily brought to a closer contemplation of the Divine Goodness and Wisdom and Mercy, and to feel a deeper love myself for my Redeemer, and a stronger desire to lay hold of his precious promises and make my calling & election sure. I had already been confirmed in the Epis. Church. I took charge of a class of young men in the Sunday School of my church and very soon became very much interested in their welfare & spiritual progress. We had a large & intelligent Bible Class in our Church also, and I became an active member of it, and devoted much time to the study of the Scriptures. These duties seemed to increase my knowledge of the Bible, and, almost as a natural consequence, to increase my faith & zeal in the doctrines of the Christian religion. In the spring of last year my health was so poor that I was induced to try the Water Cure treatment as practiced at this Institution. There is at this place a strong religious influence, and while I have been benefitted my bodily infirmities, I feel that I have also grown in the knowledge & the love of God. I have met some lovely Christian characters during my sojourn here, and I have deemed it a rare & special privilege to enjoy their society. My health is now so much improved that I feel justified in rejoining my Regiment soon. I think now that I shall start for my post, Fort Randall, Nebraska, sometime in May. I feel that I am going where my Christianity will be tried, where I will receive rebuffs instead of encouragements, temptations instead of examples, and a total absence of religious influences instead of the holy associations I have enjoyed so long. May I therefore ask you, my friend, to write to me & give me your experience, and such suggestions as you may deem suitable to my situation & prospects. I need not assure you that both my wife and my self count largely upon your words to comfort & strengthen us, and that we earnestly pray that you may long be spared to labor effectively in the Lord s vineyard. Give my kind regards to your wife, and believe me your sincere friend. O.A. Mack

1128 3/30/1860 OOH-1069 E. Waite Lieut O. O. Howard Portland Portland March 30 1860 Lieut O. O. Howard Dear Sir Your favor of 27 enclosing coupons for interest on Rail Road Bonds, is recvd. I will attend to collecting and forward the amt also dividend on Bank Stock all of which will be due next week. Shall then also get certificate of four shares Bank Stock. I am aware that Rail Road Stock give more interest at present than Bonds, but Shares are precarious & may fail, while the Bonds in a few years will be worth par value. On the Subject of Religion there is no new interest with us, but good attention is still manifested on the subject. We are all enjoying comfortable health. Susie & her husband are with us. All join in sending much love to yourself & family. Your Affectionate Uncle E. Waite

1129 3/31/1860 Charles C Lee Dear [OO] Howard OOH-1070 N. C. Mil. Institute Charlotte, N.C. N. C. Mil. Institute Charlotte, N.C. March 31st 1860 Dear Howard: Your kind letter was received some time ago, and one thing and another has caused me to put off replying to it until the present time. We are all quite well, and send our love to you, and yours. Little Annie is getting to be quite a large girl now, and her Sister Eula is progressing quite rapidly. I have not written to Lieut. Roberts for the Board of Directors have not given me any specific directions to write, and I am waiting to hear from them. The two vacant chairs of which I spoke, have been filled, but next October in all probability we shall want another to fill the chair of Engineering, and for this Lieut. Roberts is most eminently fitted, having filled such a place as an Engineer officer in the U.S. service for three years. I like my post very well, though as Commandant I have rather more to do than most, and some of the discipline is unpleasant at times. Everything for the last two months has gone on quite smoothly, and I hope and believe we are succeeding to raise the moral tone of the Corps much higher than it usually is even in Military Institutions, and therefore we hope we shall have little difficulty in the future; but as the Maj. (Maj. Hill) says, boys are the most uncertain things in the world, and there is no telling how long we may remain successful. Give our love to Mrs. H & children. Charlotte is quite pleasantly situated, though the want of a stream of any size near at hand seems like a defect in the original selection of the site. We have now about 130 Cadets, of whom 105 are boarders in the Institute, the rest day schollars. All are subject to Mil. Discipline. Excuse more as tis just parade time. Your friend Charles C Lee

1130 3/31/1860 OOH-1071 Blanche Berard 1433 Filbert St Philadelphia My dear friend [OO Howard] 1433 Filbert St Philadelphia Sat. Evening, March 31st 1860 My dear friend I intend sending you with this note a pamphlet containing an account of The Work of God in Phil ia. I am sure it will interest you deeply and when you have done all the good you wish with it at West Point will you be so kind as to send it to Mr Robert. I dare say, if you have not his address, my Mother or Sisters can give it you. It is the most interesting account I ever met with, concerning any work of this nature. I have not yet procured a copy of BJ Potter s Drinking Usages of Society but will try to remember to do so. If you have time will your write me a little about Nancy J Rose s death. Dear child! It was a sad and sudden piece of intelligence to me. If, as I fondly trust, she fell asleep in Jesus it will be no longer sad. Was she able to speak with you? And did she give any evidence of love to the Savior? She was a dear attentive child in her class and perhaps, having a retiring reserved disposition may have had a deeper <strain> experience than we know of. Will you express to Mrs Rose my sympathy and tell her I earnestly pray that God may bless and sanctify this affliction to her own spiritual good. Have you been to N.Y. and heard Mr Guinness? I often think of you when attending the various means of grace with which this City is blessed. I intend in the course of three weeks to send you two capital articles by Dr V, on the Lay Ministry of the Word. They will I am sure encourage your heart. Meanwhile be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might. God bless you, Mrs Howard, and the dear children. To all I send love. Ever yr attached friend Blanche Berard Maria and her lovely little family are all well.